Improvement in fire-arms



P. LANCASTER.

Breech-Loading Fire-Arm.

Paten ted Apr. 15, 1856.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PALMER LANCASTER, OF BURR OAK, MICHIGAN.

IMPROVEMENT IN FIRE-ARMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 14,667, dated April 15, 1856.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, PALMER LANCASTER, of Burr Oak, in the county of St. Joseph and. State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Repeating Fire-Arms; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a side view of a pistol with my improvement, the covering-plate of the lock being removed to show the interior. Fig. 2 is a front view of the same, and Fig. 3 a top view of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

Fire-arms constructed according to this invention are provided with the transverselysliding many-chambered straight breech.

The improvement consists in certain means of operating the breech for repeated firing by the raising of the hammer to discharge the piece.

To enable others to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A is the many-chambered transversely-sliding breech, fitted to slide through a frame, B, which connects the barrel 0 with the stock D, and partly supported by a plate, B, which extends on one side of the said frame B.

E is the hammer, working on the fixed pin a, and having connected with it by a pin, b, below the fixed pin a, a toothed deg, F, which engages with a tooth, c, on the trigger H in such a manner that in drawing back the trigger with the finger the tooth c, by its forward motion, draws forward the dog F and raises the hammer, which, when elevated to its full height, is caused to escape as the drawing back of the trigger is continued by an eccentric, d, on the trigger throwing up the dog F and disengaging it from the tooth e.

I is the mainspring, by which the blow of the hammer is produced.

To move the sliding breech the necessary distance to bring a new chamber in line with the barrel every time the hammer is raised the following means are employed: The rear of the breech is provided with a series of One side,f, of this head G notches, c e, the form of which is most clearly indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, though the notches are shown in Fig. 3 also. The trigger has attached to it, so as to stand in front of it, a strong piece of metal, G, having a head, G, the face of which is curved in the form of an are described from the center of motion 9 of the trigger, and will just clear the rear of the breech as the trigger is operated.

is beveled to correspond with the beveled sides cot the notches in the breech, and to this side of the head a swinging tooth, h, is attached by a pin, 13, which has a spring,j,.so applied to it as to throw it up against the inclined sidef ot' the head, which forms a bearing for it. The front edge of the swinging tooth It stands out some distance in front of the head G, as shown in Fig. 1, so that when the trigger is operated it will work in the notches e e of the sliding breech. Before the trigger is drawn back to raise the hammer the tooth It lies close to the beveled side of the head G, as showifin red outline in Figs. 2 and 3, the head being at that time entirely above the breech. As the trigger is drawn back to raise the hammer the tooth, remaining in the same condition relatively to the head, is caused by the descending movement of the head to work through a notch, e e, and in contaet'with the inclined side 0' thereof, and by acting on the principle of a wedge on the said inclined side to move the sliding breech a distance sufficient to remove a discharged chamber from the barrel, and bring the next chamber, which is supposed to be charged, in line with the barrel. This movement of the breech is caused to terminate before the hammer escapes by the tooth h working clear through the notch, and

the breech may be locked by a suitable device applied for that purpose. In letting the trigger forward again after the discharge the the tooth h passes back through the same notch; but in returning it works in contact with the straight side of the notch, and is caused to swing away from its bearing on the head G, as shown in black outline in Figs. 2 and 3, and is inoperative on the breech; but as soon as it rises clear out of the notch it swings back close to the head, ready to enter the next notch, as shown in red outline in Figs.

2 and 3, and repeat its operation next time the clined tooth h applied to the trigger, and acttrigger is drawn back. ing substantially as herein set forth.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to PALMER LANCASTER. secure by Letters Patent, isr The operation of the transverselysliding Witnesses: many chambered breech by means of the SAMUEL NEEDHAM,

notches e e m the breech and the swingingin- J ABEZ COWLEY. 

